The greatest jazz clarinetist of all time, Benny Goodman deserved his title as "The King of Swing." Although not the actual founder of swing, BG's phenomenal success in 1935 launched the swing era and, without watering down his music or displaying an extroverted show-biz personality, he became a major pop star. His eccentricities (being very self-possessed) resulted in some odd incidents and a great deal of misunderstanding through the years, but they were consistent with the fact that Goodman's main interest in life was playing clarinet and that everything else was secondary.

Benny Goodman began on clarinet when he was 11 and he had two years of study with the classically trained Franz Schoepp (whose other students included Jimmy Noone and Buster Bailey). Goodman, who first played in public doing an imitation of Ted Lewis when he was 12, developed fast. By 1923 he was a member of the Musicians Union and playing regularly in Chicago. In August 1925 when he was 16, Goodman joined Ben Pollack's Orchestra and in December 1926 he made his recording debut with Pollack. Technically gifted from the start, Goodman was a major soloist with Pollack (along with Jimmy McPartland, Glenn Miller and later Jack Teagarden) and had his first opportunities to lead his own recording sessions in 1928 including two songs with a trio. After leaving Pollack in 1929, Goodman worked with Red Nichols's Five Pennies and then became a very busy studio musician, recording a countless number of performances (often in anonymous settings) during 1929-33. He even doubled during this era on alto, baritone and (on one session) trumpet. His own dates in 1933-4 featured Teagarden, Billie Holiday (in her recording debut), Mildred Bailey, Coleman Hawkins and the up-and-coming Gene Krupa. In 1934 Goodman put together his first orchestra, started recording for Columbia and appeared as one of three big bands on the Lets' Dance radio series; the show's trademark melody would permanently become his own opening theme. Using Fletcher Henderson arrangements, Goodman's well-rehearsed ensemble showed that it was possible to play both jazz and dance music simultaneously.

But when the radio show ended in May 1935, Benny Goodman's future as a bandleader was far from secure. With Bunny Berigan on trumpet, the band made popular records for Victor of "King Porter Stomp" and "Sometimes I'm Happy." The clarinetist also teamed up with Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa for the first recordings of the Benny Goodman Trio and then agreed to go on a cross-country tour with the orchestra. After some minor successes and major disasters, the group was well-received in Oakland and then on August 21, 1935 they nearly caused a riot at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles as teenagers went crazy over the band; unknown to BG, his national broadcasts on the Let's Dance series had been very popular in California. From that point on, he went from success to success, causing sensations in Chicago and New York. Although Berigan did not stay long with the band, his successors (Ziggy Elman, Harry James and Chris Griffin) formed one of the great trumpet sections, Gene Krupa became the pacesetter among drummers, and pianist Jess Stacy and singer Helen Ward (later Martha Tilton) were major assets. Goodman, by using Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton regularly in his quartet, broke boundaries in race relations. He had the most popular band in the world during 1935-38.

The highpoint to Benny Goodman's success was his historic January 16, 1938, Carnegie Hall concert which was miraculously recorded and released for the first time in the early '50s. "Sing, Sing, Sing" made Krupa such a star that the fact (plus a personality conflict with Goodman) resulted in him being the first of BG's stars to depart. Although BG's popularity was soon matched and then exceeded during the swing era by Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller, his orchestra (even with its turnover) remained a major force. By 1940 James, Wilson and Stacy were gone but Goodman had the pioneering electric guitarist Charlie Christian playing in his new sextet, he had signed with Columbia, the clarinetist was starting to record challenging arrangements by Eddie Sauter and he was using such fine sidemen as Cootie Williams, Georgie Auld and Johnny Guarnieri. As the 1940s advanced, other top players (such as Mel Powell, Lou McGarity, Red Norvo and even a young Stan Getz) and singers (Helen Forrest and Peggy Lee) made contributions and Goodman remained "King of Swing." He even took some time to show the classical music world that he could play their music too.

By 1945 and the rise of bebop, Benny Goodman's music started to be thought of as old-fashioned. BG's own playing rarely changed from that point forward but he remained enthusiastic about performing the old repertoire, and no one played it better. He broke up his band in 1946 and then opened his music temporarily to bebop. Goodman had a 1948 septet with fellow clarinetist Stan Hasselgard and Wardell Gray, used Fats Navarro on one recording and his 1949 orchestra had some very advanced arrangements by Chico O'Farrill in its book. But by the following year, Goodman returned permanently to swing. He led small groups and occasional big bands throughout the remainder of his career. While the orchestras tended to be nostalgic affairs (revisiting the Henderson charts), the combos allowed Goodman to stretch out and display his brilliant style. He had some reunions with his Trio and Quartet, participated in the rather fictional 1956 movie The Benny Goodman Story (playing the clarinet solos) and toured the USSR in 1962. Among Goodman's sidemen in the 1950s were Terry Gibbs, Buck Clayton, Ruby Braff, Paul Quinichette, Roland Hanna, Jack Sheldon, Bill Harris, Flip Phillips and Andre Previn. During his last three decades BG often used alumni and even such youngsters as Herbie Hancock and George Benson. Goodman was less active in the 1960s and made no records during 1973-77. He came back in 1978 to play at his 40th-anniversary Carnegie Hall concert before drifting back into retirement again. However in the early '80s Goodman began to show a strong interest in performing and he put together his final big band (which was really founded by Loren Schoenberg), playing on a public television show just a short time before his death.